Israeli innovation to save kids from overheated, locked cars

Israeli company presents car sensor which could prevent tragic deaths of small children forgotten in cars.

Uzi Baruch, 09/01/18 13:49

New sensor will prevent children from being forgotten in vehicle

Public relations

In the US alone, a child dies every ten days after being forgotten in a car. Over the past few years, there have been multiple attempts to find a solution, with a variety of devices aimed at helping parents to remember to remove children from the car.

The problem, however, is that all of these solutions depend on the very factor which caused the child to be forgotten in the first place - the parent's attentiveness.

Guardian Optical Technologies, which invented a special optic sensor (which is in the process of being patented), has developed technology with an alternative solution. With an internal car sensor designed to eliminate the need for multiple sensors throughout the vehicle, developers say the new device is a cost-effective alternative which could save lives without the need for complex systems.

When installed in a car, the sensor identifies microscopic movements created by the heartbeats of each passenger, regardless of size, as well as where he/she is seated and his age. This information is gathered and connected to the vehicle's internal systems, including the seat belts, air conditioning, and air bag.

The sensor can automatically initiate a series of actions, from sounding the vehicle's alerts to turning on the air conditioner. By using depth monitoring and mapping (2D and 3D) as well as analysis of movements as small as a millimeter, the sensor can identify with great accuracy the physical proportions of those in the vehicle, as well as differentiate between people and objects.

Guardian Founder and CEO Gil Dotan said, "When we understood that our technology could solve the problem of children being forgotten in cars, we were very happy. This is a tragic issue which repeats itself every year, in Israel an abroad."

"We began providing a solution to this problem, and later on, we made the technology more effective for other car systems, including seat belts, air bags, and several others. We hope that our sensor will be responsible for saving many lives, as soon as manufacturers complete the process of embedding it in their vehicles."